Staff Picks - 21 Dec 16

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It's coming to the end of the year and the festive season is upon us, so this will (probably) be the last staff pick until 2017. We have been pleased with the response from the community and the feedback we have received, so are looking forward to the new year and trying out more of the mods you guys are producing.

We love to hear your selections, so if you have a mod you would like to submit to the community (not your own), please check out this new and handy form

Just remember that other mods on the site may do roughly the same thing, so keep your eyes peeled and understand that these are just our personal picks. That said, hopefully, you'll find something you may not have seen before. Who knows, maybe we'll even learn a little about each other along the way.


SirSalami

Mod: Winter is coming
Game: The Witcher 3
Author: KNGR

*ahem*
Oooh, the monsters outside are frightful
But the mods are so delightful
Now I have a place to go
Where it snows, Where it snows, Where it snows...

Sorry, I've been trying to stir up some holiday cheer... My local weather forecast predicts dull and unseasonably warm weather, so it's unlikely I'll be seeing any real snow this holiday. But thanks to a little magic from KNGR, it's a great time to revisit the Northern Kingdoms of The Witcher 3, now that snow has begun to fall! "Winter is Coming" brings some of the whimsical fluffy stuff to those of us where it will be woefully lacking. I bet Novigrad looks especially nice this time of year.

Happy Holidays!


TerrorFox1234

Mod: Aetherial Veins
Game: Skyrim Special Edition
Author: Merkcy

This mod is a compilation of the mods “Touch of Death”, “Master of Illusion”, and “Respite” by the same author. Each of the three mods focuses on a different branch of magic, changing its projectile spells to “touch” type spells. For those of you that may not be familiar with the term, it essentially means that there is no longer a projectile and the effect of the spell is instantaneous. If you cast a touch type spell, you don’t have to wait for the projectile to reach the target. As long as your crosshair is on the target when you cast, they are immediately affected by the spell. To me, this makes a lot of sense for certain spells. For instance, casting Fear on a bandit should just be a wave of the hand, rather than launching a ball of light at them. It looks awesome, and it feels awesome.

On top of changing the casting mechanic behind certain spells, the author also added new visuals for the altered spells, to better suit the lack of a projectile. Last, but certainly not least, the author made sure to apply the same “touch type” effect to corresponding staves and scrolls.

Touch of Death deals with reanimation spells, Master of Illusion is pretty obvious, and Respite alters a handful of Restoration spells. The author has provided a full rundown of altered spells and other changes in the mod description, and you can find his plans for the mod in his stickied post under the Posts tab. Enjoy!



BlindJudge

Mod: The Christmas Mod
Game: Fallout 4
Author: Elianora

When I saw this pop up on my screen, I instantly grabbed it as my pick, stealing it away from the others - mwah ha ha ha...

Eli is a well-known modder around these parts, and for very good reason. She creates some incredible mods for the Fallout and Skyrim series and this one in particular just jumped out at me (for obvious reasons).  

I would recommend you grab this quick as there is a 'special' bit of loot that you will find in Diamond City on Christmas Day. As well as this gift, you will find a whole bunch of themed items ready for the festive spirit: Four outfits/two types of hat/loads of different items added to the settlement crafting menu and a whole lot more! 

Ho ho ho - Merry Christmas everyone.


(Guest submission)ZCUL

Mod: Mass Pike Building
Game: Fallout 4
Author: jpitner

It’s a home and (optional) settlement mod, open for settlers and followers, has several floors, is a bit pre-decorated and open for much more decoration on the player’s discretion. There are also individually created shops and guard/sentry positions ready for being manned by settlers you assign to (if used as settlement).

This building, as well as the author’s "Mass Pike Loft" has several clean floors. Cleanliness might be in disaccord with the dirty Boston surroundings – that is a question of taste. The building provides you with a lot of opportunities to let your imagination run wild for decorating this home/base in accordance with your individual liking. Jpitner added a bit of useful stuff into the building as well - free for use at your own discretion. If one likes decorating one‘s home/base/settlement extensively, this mod might be first choice as it will provide you with many additional game play hours, the more, if you additionally run some miscellaneous and fine decoration mods that are on Nexus.


Every week, we feature a few mods that have caught our staff’s attention, as well as some that were submitted by you, the Nexus Mods community. If there is a mod you’d like to see on this list, then please check out this quick and handy form.

If you haven’t already, feel free to follow us on our social media channels where we'll keep you up to date with the latest site news, articles and much more.

  


Thanks, and have fun modding!

24 comments

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  1. ZZZ02
    ZZZ02
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    Sigh why did I have to get a 32 bit windows all the good games are 64 bit. I could upgrade since it is capable of 64bit but it will be such a pain to backup and reinstall everything...
    1. JimmyRJump
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      You'll also need a new license key for the 64-bits version. There's only one license per DVD that has both versions. Not a case of 32-bits "and" 64-bits, but of 32-bits "or" 64-bits...
    2. copperhamster
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      If it's Windows 8-10 the keys are bit version agnostic. Windows 7 might be able to flex key, I'm not sure.
    3. ZZZ02
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      Yeah I looked into this a LOT since my rig is 64 compatible and I know it requires separate purchases, installations and licensees I am still so tempted but in addition to the cost and the fact that my labtop is old and "beyond well used" and on it's last legs it may not be worth it. I will wait until I can get the cash to buy a new one hopeful with windows 7 64 Tried windows 8 and it was a PIA.

      Oh well it was a gift and it has given me fun years I think it is 4 or 5 years old. it is the same one that I started doing PC gaming (at least a year later [still hate WASD in some games]) eventually discovering mods and what eventually got me to reach out online and discover this amazing community edit ugh I sound like a damn cliche

      @copperhamster I feel like a dunce I don't understand what you are trying to say here.
    4. seba1337
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      Just get a new pc IF you can. Looks like pouring money into something that old (in technology terms 5 years is an abyss) is simply not worth it.
    5. jc9542
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      7 is normally not flex for consumers or small businesses.
    6. AWARHERO
      AWARHERO
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      No laptop will ever compare to a desktop RAW GPU power... save the money for something more important.

      I started playing FO4 on my ROG i7 laptop... After 3 months... Bought a new desktop with Twin GTX 980Ti in SLI... never went back to the laptop...
    7. ZZZ02
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      But nothing beats being able to play on the couch or in the "Game room" at my university inbetween classes
    8. Jinxxed0
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      Having a good rig beats that my a long shot
    9. Tyerial12
      Tyerial12
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      have to disagree here =) Laptops can compare to desktops just depends what you get..
    10. Rustie0
      Rustie0
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      In response to post #45876510. #45887025, #45890150, #45908310, #45909460, #45914560, #45936780, #45938365, #45947040, #45950620 are all replies on the same post.


      Spoiler:  
      Show

      ZZZ02 wrote: Sigh why did I have to get a 32 bit windows all the good games are 64 bit. I could upgrade since it is capable of 64bit but it will be such a pain to backup and reinstall everything...

      JimmyRJump wrote: You'll also need a new license key for the 64-bits version. There's only one license per DVD that has both versions. Not a case of 32-bits "and" 64-bits, but of 32-bits "or" 64-bits...

      copperhamster wrote: If it's Windows 8-10 the keys are bit version agnostic. Windows 7 might be able to flex key, I'm not sure.

      ZZZ02 wrote: Yeah I looked into this a LOT since my rig is 64 compatible and I know it requires separate purchases, installations and licensees I am still so tempted but in addition to the cost and the fact that my labtop is old and "beyond well used" and on it's last legs it may not be worth it. I will wait until I can get the cash to buy a new one hopeful with windows 7 64 Tried windows 8 and it was a PIA.

      Oh well it was a gift and it has given me fun years I think it is 4 or 5 years old. it is the same one that I started doing PC gaming (at least a year later [still hate WASD in some games]) eventually discovering mods and what eventually got me to reach out online and discover this amazing community edit ugh I sound like a damn cliche

      @copperhamster I feel like a dunce I don't understand what you are trying to say here.

      seba1337 wrote: Just get a new pc IF you can. Looks like pouring money into something that old (in technology terms 5 years is an abyss) is simply not worth it.

      jc9542 wrote: 7 is normally not flex for consumers or small businesses.

      AWARHERO wrote: No laptop will ever compare to a desktop RAW GPU power... save the money for something more important.

      I started playing FO4 on my ROG i7 laptop... After 3 months... Bought a new desktop with Twin GTX 980Ti in SLI... never went back to the laptop...

      ZZZ02 wrote: But nothing beats being able to play on the couch or in the "Game room" at my university inbetween classes

      Jinxxed0 wrote: Having a good rig beats that my a long shot

      Tyerial12 wrote: have to disagree here =) Laptops can compare to desktops just depends what you get..


      why the f*#@ would you buy windows? thepiratebay.se
       
      Banned - TVD.
    11. xXBalthorXx
      xXBalthorXx
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      If you're interested in laptops, then you're in for a lot of research and a big investment. Desktops are cheaper and more reliable, as you can buy the parts separately for discounted prices against buying a pre-built (and complete control over the specs), and you can build it with ease or have it built for you at your local technician. But yeah, if you want mobility a laptop's gonna be the thing for you. Just make sure you look carefully for the best price-quality ratio and if possible, get an NVIDIA GPU, no problem with ATI but NVIDIA always has better optimization, exclusive features, better reliability and al that jazz.
    12. Ethreon
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      You an still sit on your couch and play on your better-than-a-same-price-laptop PC.
    13. ZZZ02
      ZZZ02
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      True but this labtop vs desktop debate is like debating between milk and dark chocolate it is a preference. PS DARK CHOCOLATE FTW
    14. Nautious
      Nautious
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      • 4 kudos
      It's more like debating Hersheys Chocolate Kisses V.S. Hersheys Chocolate Bars...lol
    15. theBoushiya
      theBoushiya
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      Well if you really want to upgrade, I don't believe Windows 10 requires a key. You simply get locked out of customizing it, and have to live with the "Activate Windows" background text in the lower right corner. Other than that, you can do anything as far as I'm aware, without limit. I would look into it more before doing anything, though.
  2. vixsyn
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    Aetherial Veins will make time travelling Jedi RP so much easier.
  3. fredlaus
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    Happy Holidays to you all.
  4. pancakemix
    pancakemix
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    That is NOT what a touch spell is, at least not in Oblivion or Morrowind. In those games you have to literally touch the target, as the name would imply. The description of Aetherial Veins makes it seem like any spell will work instantly from any distance.

    If that isn't the case and you DO have to get within arm's reach every target, then I imagine that the average life expectancy for mages has decreased significantly.
    1. FetishDream
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      It's just an instant projectile, Phenderix Magic Evolved does have actual touch spells if you want to play with them. They're stronger than long ranged attacks but obviously require you literally touching them.
    2. FreedomsFlame
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      I think that there's a variable for touch spells that determines the "touch" range. Mechanically the spells use the touch coding but they don't have the range limitation that the game's traditional touch spells do.
  5. Elianora
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    WHEN SENPAI NOTICES YOU ;__;
    1. ZZZ02
      ZZZ02
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      Nice choice Blindjudge-San, Elianora-Senpai is definitely a worthy person to get noticed.
  6. zcul
    zcul
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    Oops, the staff again picked few mods that seem to be fine and inventive gems ... and this time introduced with a very inventive and amusing variety (imo) of „Let it snow“ ... rofl